This is one result where there's absolutely no doubt about the winner. The Times of India, India's (and the world's) largest-selling English newspaper by an enormous margin, widened its lead over other papers in the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2011, according to the latest round of the Indian Readership Survey (IRS). Propelled by a huge increase of 61,000 readers in Mumbai, TOI added 1.49 lakh readers across India – way more than the growth in readership (1.1 lakh) of its five nearest rivals put together. TOI's all-India readership is more than two times that of the No 2 paper (HT) and almost three and a half times that of the No 3 paper (The Hindu).
TOI's Nagpur edition, which completed five years on November 15 last year and came out with a 72-page bonanza spread over eight days, added 8,000 new readers to show a 9% growth. From 86,000 in the third quarter, TOI Nagpur is now read by 94,000 people. In comparison, The Hitavada lost 13,000 readers.
TOI's impressive showing in Mumbai saw its readership surge to 15.96 lakh, almost double the size of the No. 2 English daily – our sister publication, Mumbai Mirror, which itself attracted 42,000 fresh readers to rise to 7.96 lakh readers. The Times Group thus strengthened its already formidable dominance in India's financial capital.
TOI also posted impressive growth in other major cities, including The paper added 16,000 new readers in Delhi compared with 11,000 by Hindustan Times. According to the survey, TOI now has 19.04 lakh readers in the national capital.
In Chennai, TOI was the only newspaper among the top three to gain readers during the quarter. While The Hindu lost 5,000 readers and No. 3-placed Deccan Chronicle lost 16,000, TOI continued its growth story in the city, acquiring as many as 10,000 new readers. The paper now has more than 2 lakh regular readers in Chennai.
TOI also consolidated its leadership position in Bangalore, growing by 4% in the city. This translates to 23,000 new readers for the paper, taking the total figure to 5.42 lakh, well above double that of its nearest rival, Deccan Herald (2.14 lakh).
TOI also posted impressive growth in Kolkata. In an environment where two of the top four newspapers in the city lost 9,000 readers, TOI gained 5,000. In comparison, The Telegraph added 1,000 readers.
It grew 6% in Ahmedabad to 1.31 lakh compared to its sister publication Ahmedabad Mirror's 68,000 and DNA's 18,000.
In Pune, it grew 4% to 200,000 compared to DNA's 36,000.
The paper grew in Lucknow too, adding an impressive 10% to take its overall readership to 1.18 lakh, almost four times HT's 32,000.
IRS, conducted by the Media Research Users Council, estimates the readership base of publications in the country. According to the latest survey, eight of the top 10 dailies in the country registered growth during the quarter.
साभार : टाइम्स आफ इंडिया
